COUPLE IN DISASTER SHELTER PREPARES FOR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

In St. Johns County there is one story of love can give us all some hope after Hurricane Irma. One husband and wife are about to celebrate their one year anniversary in a shelter setup by the Red Cross. But what sets them apart is that they're staying in the same shelter where the met after Hurricane Matthew.

Author:
Alexander Osiadacz

Published:
1:21 PM EDT September 13, 2017

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In St. Johns County there is one story of love can give us all some hope after Hurricane Irma.

One husband and wife are about to celebrate their one year anniversary in a shelter setup by the Red Cross. But what sets them apart is that they're staying in the same shelter where the met after Hurricane Matthew.

"I’m glad to be here and not on the street," Donovan Dean said.

Not exactly where Dean and his wife Jannet Brown wanted to celebrate their one year anniversary in just a few weeks. Back in the same shelter where they met after Hurricane Matthew: the Solomon Calhoun Center. They found a common interest in literature, that sparked into a romance.

(Photo: Alex Osiadacz) Brown and Dean met in the Soloman Calhoun Community Center after Hurricane Matthew.

"She was reading books and I was reading a similar type of book," Dean said.

Both are homeless, they are not sure how long their normal shelter, St. Francis House, will be closed. So they’re in a holding pattern: sleeping on cots just feet from where they were last year.

"It’s very strange, it’s strange that we even ended up here we tried not to end up here," Brown said.

The couple had to pawn their ring to just to afford food, Brown added.So their plans to celebrate their anniversary, Donovan said, maybe short on gifts but not on love.

"We're trying to get a cupcake and a candle, but that’s it for right now that’s all we can get.," Dean said.

Both adding that next year, they hope to spend their anniversary somewhere new.

(Photo: Alex Osiadacz) Brown and Dean plan to get a cupcake and a candle to celebrate their one year anniversary in the disaster relief shelter.